Nassim Boujellab: I’ve worked my entire life for this

“I saw Burgi make the run and played the pass. He took it and put it in beautifully,” said Boujellab. “It’s a good feeling to have gotten my first assist. That’s the kind of moment you work your entire life to achieve,” said the midfielder, who made his debut for the Royal Blues in March during their 1-0 win against Hannover.

Lots of praise from his teammates

Goal-scorer Guido Burgstaller was full of praise for his teammate following the game. “He was quick on the counter and won many tackles. Nassim is a good kid and massively talented,” said the Austrian. “If he continues this way, then he will become a really good player.” Daniel Caligiuri sees things the same way. “Nassim has been strong in training over the past few weeks. He shows up ready to work and is open to advice from the veteran players,” said the 31-year-old. “He believes in himself and is doing really well.”

After his first assist, Boujellab is now looking to add his first goal. He’ll have a final chance to do so this Saturday (18.05) when Schalke host Stuttgart in the final game of the season. “I hope that we’re able to deliver a good game against Stuttgart, we owe that to our fans,” said Boujellab. “We will give it our all in order to get those three points.”

Boujellab played the majority of this season with the U23s, who celebrated their promotion into the Regionalliga in April as well as winning the fifth division last weekend. The U19s also had something to celebrate last Saturday, as they took home the West German championship. Head coach Norbert Elgert’s side will now take part in the semi-finals of the German championship, and will face Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday 15^th May (18:15 CEST) in Oberhausen. “I’m really happy that our U19 team won the West German championship,” said Boujellab, who knows what it’s like to play for the German championship. Last year he took part in the final, where Schalke lost 3-1 against Hertha Berlin, despite a strong performance.

If time permits, Boujellab said he will be there to support the U19s on Wednesday. “The team has a good mindset and can go far,” he said. “Anything is possible during a derby—like we saw recently.”